After the buzz settled down following the decision not to close Tracy Elementary School, Easton Area School District officials are left with deciding how to reorganize the district's facilities and reconfigure grade levels.

The result could mean a change of scenery for some students, as administrators are recommending that fifth-grade students be moved back to the elementary schools and the middle school be a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade configuration.

Superintendent John Reinhart laid out the district central office's recommendations during a meeting Tuesday night.

The suggestions come on the heels of a report last fall by the Pennsylvania Economy League that recommended closing Tracy School, moving its students elsewhere and using the building for district offices and Easton Area Academy, a school for students with behavioral problems.

The buildings housing district offices and the academy could then be sold. The report also noted some unused classroom space in the district's schools.

But the cost to renovate Tracy came in at an estimated $8 million, Reinhart said, and selling both of the other buildings would not net the district even half that amount.

Ultimately, district officials decided the extra space scattered throughout elementary schools could be better used for the expanding early childhood educational programs such as additional Head Start classrooms, pre- and post-school day care and all-day kindergarten classes.

"We looked at this through two lenses: the instructional benefit for students through the restructuring of the grade levels, and that it be financially sustainable and within reasonable cost for the district," Reinhart said.

With the restructuring of grade levels, Reinhart said he believes the district will need to hire more teachers.

In addition to moving fifth-grade students back to elementary schools, district officials are recommending moving the Easton Academy to the first floor of the middle school.

There are other concerns the district needs to consider, Reinhart said, including renovations needed at Paxinosa and Palmer elementary schools, as well as renovations to the pool at the high school.

Reinhart said planning for any move needs to start soon and will take 15 to 24 months to complete, meaning students probably would not be moved until the 2017-2018 school year.

School directors agreed to set up a meeting to discuss the matter in more detail, although no date was set.